This invention relates to caps for containers. More particularly, this invention relates to a cap for a container wherein drinking access to the container is provided by a removable tear strip section of the cap while the cap remains in place.
In the past, a variety of container tops have been provided with pull tabs connected to rings or the like to permit access to the container for drinking or pouring. While such arrangements may be acceptable in certain circumstances, such as in the case of metal container with metal tops, they may not be entirely acceptable in other instances.
For example, molded plastic tops are not particularly amenable to the provision of pull tabs connected to rings or the like.
Acceptable plastic container tops having tear-off pull tabs have been provided in the past. However, these are ordinarily intended for complete removal of the cap. See, for example, my copending application Ser. No. 361,632 filed May 18, 1973, for "Cap Design with Permanently Attached Tear Strip."
Although such caps are particularly desirable in conjunction with container in which frozen orange juice concentrate is maintained, when used with containers in which liquid is maintained, the possibility of spilling or splashing during cap removal exists. The present invention provides a cap wherein drinking or pouring access is established by a tear strip section, while minimizing the likelihood of spilling or splashing. In this connection, a tear strip extending up the side and in part across the top of the cap is employed.
Prior proposals, such as those illustrated in Lange U.S. Pat. No. 3,338,445, issued Aug. 29, 1967, and Schmitt U.S. Pat. No. 1,026,282, issued May 14, 1912, involve caps with tear strips that extend up the side and across a portion of the top of a cap. Among other differences between the present invention and those proposals, the present invention provides a cap construction wherein a novel force interaction between the cap and the container facilitates a relatively smooth tab removal while maintaining the cap in position on the container.